🇳🇱 Netherlands: EO & WNL Were Willing to Co-operate on Eurovision Participation

NOS reports that EO and WNL were willing to support Dutch participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2027 before NPO announced its withdrawal from the contest.

NPO announced yesterday that it had withdrawn plans to compete in Eurovision 2027 following a lack of support among its member broadcasters to compete in the contest. NPO said in a statement that:

“In our coordinating role, we held discussions with the broadcasters to investigate whether there are any broadcasters willing to facilitate the participation of a Dutch artist. In those discussions, we initially felt there was sufficient support to return. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a suitable format for this. As a result, we must conclude that it is currently too early to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027. Due to the sensitivities surrounding the themes currently at play, we have decided to take a step back for the time being.”

NOS now reports that, according to multiple sources, EO and WNL were willing to support Dutch participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Arjan Lock, Director of EO, states that they were looking at ways alongside NPO to make Eurovision participation possible. However, a spokesperson for the broadcaster explained that:

“We do believe that Eurovision belongs in public broadcasting, but we do not think it fits with EO.”

In addition, WNL has confirmed they were willing to see how they could make a Dutch entry in the contest possible but that

“There proved to be insufficient support within public broadcasting. For a journalistic broadcaster like WNL, doing it alone is not an option.”

Source: NOS

Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest+

The Netherlands debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 and has gone on to compete in all but four contests. The Netherlands has won the contest on five occasions; 1957, 1959, 1969, 1975 and most recently 2019. Prior to Duncan Laurence’s victory in Tel Aviv, the Netherlands had been waiting 44 years for their next victory. Duncan Laurence won the contest in Tel Aviv with the song “Arcade”.